Stock Market & Financial Investment News

NIAID exercises option under agreement with BioCryst BioCryst Pharmaceuticals disclosed that on June 17 the company and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, or NIAID, amended their agreement dated September 12, 2013 for the development of BCX4430. NIAID exercised Option 6 under the agreement to conduct drug product development activities relating to the development of an IV formulation of BCX4430, including preformulation and stability studies and the manufacture of non-GMP drug substance. Pursuant to the option, NIAID released an additional $1.89M to the company and all other terms and conditions of the agreement remain unchanged, BioCryst said.

Fujifilm CEO says 'ready' for large orders of Avigan drug for Ebola, WSJ reportsFujifilm’s (FUJIY) Avigan drug, which has shown signs of efficacy against the Ebola virus, has drawn interest from about 20 countries, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing comments made by CEO Shigetaka Komori. The drug was developed by Toyama Chemical, a Fujifilm unit, and Komori said the company is ready for large orders. Other drug companies that are working on experimental Ebola vaccines or treatments include Peregrine (PPHM), Tekmira (TKMR), Sarepta (SRPT), BioCryst (BCRX), Chimerix (CMRX) and NewLink Genetics (NLNK). Reference Link

Liberia, U.S. begin ZMapp ebola trialIn partnership with the Liberian government, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases launched a clinical trial to obtain safety and efficacy data on the investigational drug ZMapp as a treatment for Ebola virus disease. The study may be expanded to test ZMapp against other treatments which may also include the following: Tekmira siRNA from Tekmira Pharmaceuticals (TKMR), Favipiravir from Toyama Chemical, BCX4430 from BioCryst (BCRX), and AVI-7537 from Sarepta (SRPT). The trial is expected to conclude in December 2016.